Greenway Arts Alliance presents The House on Mango Street 9/29 – 10/28

GREENWAY ARTS ALLIANCE

PRESENTS

THE HOUSE ON MANGO STREET

ADAPTED BY AWARD-WINNING PLAYWRIGHT AMY LUDWIG

BASED ON THE CRITICALLY-ACCLAIMED NOVEL BY SANDRA CISNEROS

AND DIRECTED BY ALEXANDRA MEDA

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For Group Sales Contact tmoon at greenwayartsalliance.org

THE CAST FEATURES

ELIZABETH NUNGARAY    ESTELLA GARCIA

ALEX ALPHAROAH    FRANCELI CHAPMAN    CHRISTINE MANTILLA 

ISRAEL LOPEZ REYES   GRACIELA LIZET RODRIGUEZ     MIEBAKA YOHANNES

PERFORMANCES RUN FROM SEPTEMBER 29 – OCTOBER 28, 2017

WITH THE OFFICIAL PRESS OPENING ON SEPTEMBER 30

AT GREENWAY COURT THEATRE

PRESENTED IN CELBRATION OF

GREENWAY ARTS ALLIANCE’S 20^th ANNIVERSARY

AS PART OF THE GREENWAY READS COLLABORATION BETWEEN

GREENWAY COURT THEATRE AND GREENWAY INSTITUTE FOR THE ARTS

LOS ANGELES, CA (Aug. 30, 2017) – Greenway Arts Alliance (Whitney Weston and Pierson Blaetz, Co-Founders and Co-Artistic Directors) will present THE HOUSE ON MANGO STREET, adapted for stage by award-winning playwright Amy Ludwig (2006 LA Weekly Theater Award for “Best Adaptation” of The House on Mango Street) and directed by Alexandra Meda (Artistic Director of Chicago’s Teatro Luna). Based on the New York Times best-selling book of the same name by Sandra Cisneros, THE HOUSE ON MANGO STREET will play at Greenway Court Theatre (544 N. Fairfax Avenue, Los Angeles) from September 29 – October 28, 2017, with the official press opening taking place on Saturday, September 30.

The cast of THE HOUSE ON MANGO STREET features:

Elizabeth Nungaray as Esperanza

Your Problem with Men and Enrique’s Journey at Los Angeles Theatre Center.

Nungaray is an ensemble member of Teatro Luna.

Estella Garcia as Older Esperanza

South Coast Repertory’s The Long Road Today by Jose Cruz Gonzalez.

Cecil in Watts Village Theatre’s Meet me at the Metro.

Alex Alpharoah as Ensemble

Noche de Boda at Frida Khalo Theatre, Don’t Talk About It, SP!T About It at

Greenway Court Theatre, Urban Unrest at Sacred Fools Theatre, and others.

Franceli Chapman as Ensemble

Den of Thieves at the Hollywood Fringe Festival.

Christine Mantilla as Ensemble

World premieres of The Anatomy of Gazellas (Playwrights Arena) and Soledad by Janine Salinas Schoenberg (Casa 0101 Theatre) and Demeter in the City by Sarah Ruhl (Cornerstone Theater Company).

Graciela Lizet Rodriguez as Ensemble

Rodriguez played the role of Valeria Lopez in Baño de Damas with Tierra Blanca Arts Center.

Greenway Court Theatre’s Don’t Talk About It, SP!T About It.

Miebaka Yohannes as Ensemble

Miebaka has performed on stages on Off Broadway, television and film.

Joining Alexandra Meda’s creative team are choreographer Ysaÿe McKeever (Teatro Luna’s Generation Sex), projection and environment designer Corwin Evans, costume designer Beryl Brachman, lighting designer Azra King-Abadi, and sound designer Jesse Mandapat.

THE HOUSE ON MANGO STREET centers around the life of young Latina Esperanza Cordero, as she undergoes her personal journey into adulthood. As she matures, Esperanza encounters the harsh realities of puberty as well the hardships witnessed in her family and her Mango Street neighborhood. Despite all she witnesses and endures, Esperanza seeks hope and persists toward a better future.

Ludwig’s adaption of THE HOUSE ON MANGO STREET received national critical acclaim. The Chicago Tribune said, “Some plays open up their world so completely they cast a thick spell. That’s the triumphant case with director Amy Ludwig’s joyous and generous adaptation of The House on Mango Street.” And, “Amy Ludwig’s respectful stage adaptation honors Cisneros’ eloquent writing,” said the Los Angeles Times.

“THE HOUSE ON MANGO STREET is currently banned from Tucson, Arizona schools. Why? Sandra Cisneros’ powerful words take us to the heart of how it feels to grow up as an outsider. In today’s climate, that’s a story we need to share and celebrate, not to silence,” said THE HOUSE ON MANGO STREET adaptor Amy Ludwig.

Director Alexandra Meda said, “The story of Esperanza, her young desire to shake the sky and soar above her ‘House on Mango Street’ and the special kind of fear and hate that is directed at immigrant families, is a very personal touchstone for so many readers over the last 20 years — including this cast and creative team. The isolation, violence, and limitations that surround Esperanza feel all too familiar in the current state of affairs we find ourselves in today in the United States. I am thrilled to be working with this exciting talented cast in exploring the contemporary relationships we have as a society to this family and neighborhood that was brought to life over 25 years ago.”

THE HOUSE ON MANGO STREET is presented in celebration of Greenway Arts Alliance 20^th Anniversary year, which kicks off on October 8, 2017. For two decades, the nonprofit GAA has been uniting communities through art, education and social enterprise. Greenway, a community leader and role model in social enterprise, runs the Greenway Court Theatre (a professional 99-seat theater), the Greenway Institute for the Arts (an arts education program at Fairfax High School, Title 1 high school in Los Angeles) and the Melrose Trading Post (a weekly open-air arts based marketplace). An all-day community celebration of Greenway Arts Alliance’s 20^th Anniversary will take place at the world famous Melrose Trading Post on Sunday, October 8.

The acclaimed novel, The House on Mango Street, has been used as required reading in educational institutions all around the nation. Continuing this theme of education, Greenway Arts Alliance’s educational wing, the Greenway Institute of the Arts (GIA), will incorporate the novel and stage production into Fairfax High School’s curriculum through the GreenwayReads program. Greenway’s multi-disciplinary approach to programming will focus on the novel’s themes while bringing it to life on stage and through arts education and special events. Three hundred students will participate in GreenwayReads and will have the opportunity to see the stage production at select matinee performances. Last year, GIA and GCT kicked off the GreenwayReads program with Greenway’s production of George Orwell’s 1984.

“It was important that we choose a book and play that reflect the lives of the students at Fairfax High School, Esperanza’s story in THE HOUSE ON MANGO STREET is the story of so many students at Fairfax,” said Co-Founder and Co-Artistic Director Whitney Weston of Greenway Arts Alliance.

“We reached out for recommendations from our amazing community of artists and educators who have supported us over Greenway’s 20-year history. We agreed that staging a classic that so beautifully portrays the power of place and home for an immigrant family is a must-see in our current political climate,” added Co-Founder and Co-Artistic Director of Greenway Arts Alliance, Pierson Blaetz.

“Most of the professional staff and crew of GreenwayReads participate in the student sessions, before and after the performances. For many students, it is the first time they have ever seen a professional play, and after the program, it’s amazing to see them actively invested and excited about theatre,” said Weston. “Pierson and I are grateful that our cast and crew share Greenway Arts Alliance’s mission of uniting communities through art.”

THE HOUSE ON MANGO STREET will play at Greenway Court Theatre, 544 North Fairfax Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90036. ​Performances begin September 29, 2017 and play through October 28, 2017 with the official press opening on Saturday, September 30 at 8:00 p.m. Performance schedule is Fridays at 8 p.m. and Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Note: There will be no matinee performance on September 30. Tickets go on sale on Friday, September 1, 2017. General admission tickets are $30, and student/senior (65+) discounted tickets are $15. Tickets are available online at GreenwayCourtTheatre.org. For more information call 323-673-0544 or visit GreenwayCourtTheatre.org.

Coeurage Theatre Company presents Nicky by Boni Alvarez

COEURAGE THEATRE COMPANY

LA’S PAY WHAT YOU WANT THEATRE COMPANY

 PRESENTS

NICKY

A WORLD PREMIERE PLAY

 BY BONI B. ALVAREZ

DIRECTED BY BETH LOPES

OPENS SATURDAY, JUNE 3

AT THE GREENWAY COURT THEATRE

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Coeurage Theatre Company, LA’s Pay What You Want theatre company, has announced the first production of its eighth season, the world premiere of Nicky, by acclaimed Los Angeles playwright Boni B. Alvarez. Directed by Beth Lopes, there will be two preview performances on June 1 and 2 at 8pm and opening is set for Saturday, June 3 at 8pm. Nicky will play through July 1 at the Greenway Court Theatre. 

The cast will feature (in alphabetical order) Chris Aguila, Jamie Barcelon, Ted Barton, Alexis Genya, Taylor Hawthorne, Mark Jacobson, Daniel Kaemon, Nardeep Khurmi, Jeremy Lelliott, Julia Silverman, Emily Swallow, Cyrus Wilcox, Sandy Yu, and Carolyn Zeller. Scenic design is by Benoît Guerrin, lighting design is by Azra King-Abadi, costume design is by Karen Curry, and sound design is by Michelle Stann. The stage manager is Summer Grubaugh.

Inspired by Anton Chekhov’s Ivanov, playwright Alvarez transforms the world of 1800s Russia into  present-day Palm Springs.  Under  the  piercing  desert  sun,  characters plod through the unforgiving heat, clinging to their self-described identities while chasing after and running away from their true desires. Nicky was developed in the Coeurage CoLab.

Boni B. Alvarez is a Los Angeles-based playwright whose plays have been produced and/or developed at Playwrights’ Arena, Skylight Theatre, Chalk Rep, Second Generation (2g), The Vagrancy, Los Angeles Theatre Center, Teatro Bravo, and Interact Theatre. His plays include Before We Do, Bloodletting, Dusty De Los Santos, Marabella, The Special Education of Miss Lorna Cambonga, Poke Back, Dallas Non-Stop, The Debut of Georgia, and others. His works have been finalists for the PEN Center USA Literary Award, the Bay Area Playwrights Festival, Aurora Theatre’s Global Age Project, and Clubbed Thumb’s Biennial Commission. Alvarez has participated in Playwrights’ Arena’s New Pages Lab, the CBS Diversity Writers Mentoring Program, Skylight Theatre’s Play Lab, and Center Theatre Group’s Writers’ Workshop.

Director Beth Lopes received a BFA in Drama from New York University and an MFA in Directing from UC Irvine. Recent projects include the regional premiere of Grand Concourse with Theatre Horizon, the world premiere of Alex Burkart’s Atlas Pit (LA New Court Theatre), and the development of a new rock musical, The Merry Lives of Windsor High, with LA company mediaV. Later this summer, Lopes will be directing The Taming of the Shrew at the New Swan Shakespeare Festival.

Coeurage Theatre Company exists to make impassioned theatre accessible for all audiences through Pay What You Want admission and fresh, challenging productions. The company’s name is inspired by a re–imagining of the word courage — coeur is French for heart, and rage, meaning fervor; on fire. Together, Coeurage (pronounced “courage”) is a heart enflamed with passion, which the company strives to bring to every production.

There will be two preview performances of Nicky on Thursday, June 1 and Friday, June 2 at 8pm and opening is set for Saturday, June 3 at 8pm. The regular running schedule is Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 8pm through July 1. All seats are available on a Pay What You Want basis and may be reserved online at www.greenwaycourttheatre.org/nicky or by calling (323) 673-0544.

Paradise Lost: Reclaiming Destiny

Greenway Arts Alliance and Not Man Apart present

PARADISE LOST: RECLAIMING DESTINY

Creative Team
Producer/Director: Jones Welsh Talmadge

Producer/ Co-Director: Laura Covelli

Producers: Aaron Hendry, Zachary Reeve Davidson

Head Choreographer: Jones Welsh Talmadge

Choreographers: Anne-Marie Talmadge, Alina Bolshakova, Charles Roy

Visual Effects: J-Walt Adamczyk

Video Visual Effects: Hannah Beavers

Lighting Designer: John Bass

Wardrobe: Ashphord Jacoway

Sound Effects & Compilation: Bernie Sirelson

Composers: Elisa Rosin, Alysia Michelle James, Bernie Sirelson

Technical Director / Stage Manager: Niki Armato

Greenway Producing Director: Tiffany Moon

Greenway Artistic Directors: Whitney Weston & Pierson Blaetz

Cast

J-Walt Adamczyk, James Bane,  Alina Bolshkova, Laura Covelli, Zachary Reeve Davidson, Marguerite French, Alexander Garland, Kendall Johnson, Janine Montag, Moses Norton, Elisa Rosin, Charles Roy, Anne-Marie Talmadge, Jones Welsh Talmadge,

Not Man Apart Physical Theatre Ensemble and Greenway Arts Alliance present a movement adaptation of John Milton’s eloquent epic poem: Paradise Lost. The innovative vision adapted by NMA Co-Artistic Director Jones (Welsh) Talmadge, Co-directed with NMA Co-Artistic Director Laura Covelli, blends dance, acrobatics, dynamic partnering and Not Man Apart’s unique brand of physical storytelling, to relate a version of this iconic tale of Adam and Eve’s Temptation and the War in Heaven.

This production features bodies flying across the stage on harness and chains, augmented by the stunning digital animation effects of J-Walt Adamczyk and video installation artist Hannah Beavers. While the performance ensemble battles as angels and demons, powerful visual images of the creation of the universe and the Garden of Eden will be projected live on stage to weave an emotional tale surrounded by evocative original music and costumes.

NMA’s retelling of the fall of humanity includes a modern feminist twist. Whether you are familiar with the story of Paradise Lost, or not at all, and regardless of your belief system, Paradise Lost: Reclaiming Destiny seeks a new perspective on the future of humanity, and to empower audiences to fully claim a created destiny and connection to the whole. It’s up to us. We get to create a Heaven on Earth.

GEORGE ORWELL’S 1984

Anais – A Dance Opera